Top 4 Locksmith Scams

No one likes to be lied to. No one likes having their hard earned cash stolen from them. Unfortunately, if you don’t take care while working with online locksmith businesses you are likely to suffer both unpleasant fates. This is because of the steady increases in cases of locksmith fraud and scams targeting innocent clients who are genuinely in need of the services. If you are in the market for a new locksmith, below are a few scams you need to keep an eye out for.

Bait and Switch scam

The old bait and switch is by far the most common scam pulled by con artists both in the locksmith industry and outside it. In the case of locksmith scams, this is where you agree on a certain price before the project begins but the locksmith suddenly changes their mind mid project. This leaves you in a situation where you have to choose between poorly done work and paying more than you had bargained for.

Ghost location scam

The internet is literally flooded with testimonials from clients who claim that the locksmiths they contracted for their lock services gave fake physical addresses. You might even find that your online correspondence during the contract negotiations was with a person halfway around the world and not down the street as you thought. When it comes time to have the services rendered, they usually send one of the locksmiths on their payroll that operates around your area. The danger with this scam is that in case of any problems, there is no way for you to locate the business owners or the locksmith.

Extreme prices scams

If the price is too high then it is probably a scam. If the prices are unusually low compared to other businesses then it is definitely a scam. With the extreme price scams, under pricing is one of the most effective. This is where the locksmith business draws you in with extremely cheap charges for ordinarily costly services. They can steal from you directly by asking for the money in advance and not delivering the services as agreed upon. They also steal indirectly by offering substandard quality of work that will require you to get job completely redone.

Emergency service scams

This is less of a scam and more of taking advantage where the locksmith exploits your desperation for profit. In this case, you can find charges hiked several times more than the original on account of the case being considered an emergency. The worst part about this scam is the fact that people go along with it out of desperation in spite of the knowledge that they are being exploited.

Conclusion

Before we call it a wrap, it is super important to understand that not all online locksmith businesses are out to con you. There are actually many good ones out there whose sole purpose is to ensure that you get value for your money and then some. The descriptions above should help give you a clue of what is out there and allow you to distinguish between the bad guys and the locksmith heroes. That way, you won’t have to worry about being lied to or being a victim of fraudulent dealings.